...has been a professional Life Coach for over 17 years,
successfully coaching women and men from all over the world. Nanice
is also a Theta Healer

and Master Neuro Linguistic Practitioner.Helping people to make
quantum jumps in their lives, Nanice's very unique
coaching style is often referred to as the “Nanice
Effect”¯.

By using powerful and
proven manifestation techniques, Nanice coaches people
to tap into the power of the Universe and live their
dreams, bridging the gap from the imagination to the
realization of that dream.

She works with leaders,
coaches, healers and anyone who wants to live life to
the fullest. You can learn more about the coaching
programs offered at:

It would not be an
exaggeration to say that virtually everyone who sits down in this
room notices the poster, and relates to it in some way. I know I
did, and that is why I hung it on my wall.

I won't lie to you - this "waking up thing"¯ often makes us feel
like strangers in a strange land. The thing about waking-up is that
it is often quite uncomfortable and sometimes unbearably lonely.

It
is rough being awake, when everyone around you is still asleep - and
they are looking at you like you are out-of-your-mind!

If you have experienced a global awakening to
the truth of world
issues, many may call you a conspiracy theorist or if you have had a
spiritual awakening, others may think you had a mental breakdown.

If
you have experienced both types of awakening, maybe you are even
considered to be a "conspiracy theorist who is having a mental
breakdown."¯

Nonetheless, the result is feeling alone, isolated and
alienated - basically, a stranger in a strange land - indeed.

Waking up profoundly changes everything you see, feel and think.
When you know the Truth, you cannot un-know it, and you cannot go
back to the person you once were. That "you"¯ no longer exists -
that life is no longer available.

Many of us handle the downside of awakening by 'checking-out' or
self-medicating to overcome depression and anxiety, and to get us
through sleepless nights of overwhelming sadness - and even fear of
being all alone in the world.

Whether waking up was something that
you wanted or something that randomly found you, it can be extremely
pain-staking with little or no support, while the world dis-owns
you.

I write about this because I know it all-too-well.

My own family and
my own children thought I was mentally-unhinged for many years. My
ex-husband gallantly added to that belief. I either had to hide
myself or subject myself to criticism, ridicule and sometimes even
hostility. I was alone in a disconnected family and I was so lonely.

The Isolation of Enlightenment

It is our human nature to want to be part of a family, community or
tribe - to be loved, cherished, protected and honored for who we
are.

So when we are squeezed out, rejected, judged or made fun of,
it cuts to the core. Others accuse us of not being the same as we
once were, and therefore they feel justified in their negative
behaviors toward us - because they think that we are the ones asleep
and they are trying to wake us up - for our own good!

If we go too
long without love and affection, and even hugs, we begin to
emotionally and physically suffer; life feels like a bottomless pit
of misery with no safe haven, no comfortable place to fall.

I tried to wake my family and friends up in every way I could think
of, but it just pushed each one of them away - often causing them to
gang up on me and talk unkindly of me behind my back.

One time, I
even went out and bought a stack of books and gave a book to each
one I knew, but no one read the book.

Years went by like this, but then I made an interesting choice:

in
order to "be there"¯ for my children, who were by that time
teenagers, I put aside myself, and I made a conscious choice to be
the best parent I could be for their remaining teenage years.

It did
nothing for my feelings of loneliness or isolation but I knew that
it was the right choice. I was no longer trying to wake-up my
family. I was simply going to show up in the best way I could
without any differences being in the way.

I continued my journey
privately - I had no choice because once the journey begins there is
no getting off this train.

At some point, I accepted my plight and I made peace with the
apparent fact that my life would be a lonely one, but then the most
unexpected and remarkable thing began to unfold:

each member of my
immediate family began to wake-up.

At first I couldn't believe it. I
didn't expect it.

I had given up any hope of living in an awakened
family, yet each one of them was now having their own private
awakening experience.

I had been quiet about my knowledge and awareness for years at this
point, and yet it was as if I had shared every bit of it - because
somehow they knew what I would have said - even though I never said
it!

I am writing this article now to provide some light at the end of a
very dark tunnel.

We are all awakening. Even the people that you never thought would
wake-up - they are waking up too! You and me - are just a little
ahead of the crowd.

In the past, we have been described as
"way-showers."¯

I think that fits but it would have been nice if it
came with an instruction booklet, and maybe some warnings.

My hope
is to share some insight with you that might help as instructions or
guidance to help you emerge from this arduous process of awakening -
feeling both fulfilled and fulfilling your mission - as a
shower-of-the-new-way.

As a guide, I have included:

What to do when you are awake and alone

What NOT to do

How to relate to the sleepy-ones… and

How to overcome loneliness

So, let's begin…

Solitary Beginnings…

Okay, so maybe you say,

"I'm willing to play my part but why does it
have to be so lonely?"¯

All awakening beings go through a solitary process, where one only
has oneself.

Fear and loneliness often keep us from seeing that this
is a powerful time for personal growth and further awakening.

It is
unbearable when we resist this alone-time, and we yearn for the
former comforts of relationships as we once knew them, but if you
were to surrender (resistance) to the process that you are now
experiencing, you might discover that your higher-self is asking you
to go within and discover who you really are - without the
distractions of other people and relationships.

Birth and death are both experienced alone, and, in many ways, this
part of the journey is both
a death and a birth.

The death of who
you once believed yourself to be or that you once believed the world
to be, and the birth of the truth and who you really are - a birth
to who you are becoming...

Your most essential connection is to your Self
If you are experiencing tremendous loneliness, it is likely because
you are missing the most important connection and that connection is
to yourself.

This primal relationship to self cannot be found in
anything external and that is why this part of the journey is a
journey to self, and why it must be done alone.

If you go all the way, you will discover that alone transcends into
All One - where you are connected to everyone and everything,
regardless of external conditions.

From this place, new types of
conscious relationships can be established, unlike anything you have
ever experienced.

Many of us get stuck at the 'alone place,' thinking that it will go
on forever, and so we begin to anchor our emotional and energetic
vibrations there - not knowing that at some point we are really
doing it to ourselves by the lonely beliefs that we now carry.

In this way, we may become addicted to loneliness
Whenever we have been feeling anything for a long period of time, it
is easy to get addicted to that emotion.

When we have an Emotional
Addiction, we gravitate unconsciously to that particular emotion on
a consistent basis. When we consider the law of attraction, it also
means that we will attract more of whatever we focus on.

So, if you
are consistently feeling lonely, you are energetically telling the
Universe that you want to feel lonely, and then the Universe will
bring you more and more opportunities to feel this way.

But, you do not have to allow your sadness or despair to attract
more of what you do not want
To heal this emotional addiction, first you must take responsibility
for your loneliness - no one is ever doing anything to us - we are
only doing it to ourselves, despite evidence to the contrary.

As
long as you blame the outside world, you have no power to change
anything. In order to shift out of loneliness, you must stop
focusing on loss and separation - or any emotion associated with
loneliness.

You must also release all the stories about being lonely in the
past, present or future
If you don't change your inner story, the outside world cannot
change.

Yes, this takes a great deal of focus and presence to
attain, but you can do it. The key is to re-focus your intention on
creating connection and then you must place your attention on your
intention through inspired action.

Also, notice what behaviors you
partake-in that might actually be worsening your loneliness and
isolation, and shift to align with behaviors that will attract love
and connection, which we will explore in a moment.

Others Are Awakening

I had a dear friend who told me that I was the only one that he
could really talk to about his experience of awakening.

He said that
his other friends didn't understand and that they were all still
very asleep. One day, I met one of his friends. She and I spent the
better part of a day together, walking the boardwalk and getting
some sun.

This friend confided in me and said that she was so
relieved to talk with me because she had no other friends who were
awake enough to understand.

Hmmm, I thought, here were two good
friends who were afraid to speak openly with each other - both
feeling alone and alienated.

I have witnessed this same situation
several times over.

You just never know who is having an awakening!
No matter where you live in the world, you are not alone on your
journey.

There are others feeling exactly as you and maybe they are
too afraid to reveal their inner plight - just like you. You may be
surprised that some of them might be the same people who seem to
judge you.

Many awakening people are in denial about the process -
after all, it may look very unappealing.

It is easier to judge and
be in denial (or at least it seems so) than to open up and be the
one criticized. People don't easily accept new ideas and many resist
the whole process.

With hindsight, I can see that many who judged
and criticized me were actually going through similar experiences.

Why does everyone think you are crazy?
It is tough when those you care about think you have lost your
senses, but let's stop and ask,

"Why do they think this?"¯

Your
friends and family have known you to be one way for years (maybe
your whole life), and suddenly you change and you are talking about
things you never talked about before, and maybe doing things that
seem completely out of character.

Your behavior does not "look
awake"¯ to the people who are still asleep - it just looks, well…
crazy!

This doesn't mean that they don't love you
It just means that they don't know who you have become and they
don't know how to relate to the things you are talking about - so
they react as if there is something wrong with you, and this may
appear as judgment or rejection.

If you are the only one who becomes
sane in the midst of insanity, others will perceive you as the crazy
one, and the more you try to wake them up, the crazier you seem.

How Do You Relate to the Sleepy-Ones?

Find Things in Common

Maybe those you love or care about aren't as awake as you, but there
are probably still things that you have in common, like shared work,
interests and hobbies.

You can experience connection in these way,
without having to discuss areas where you don't agree.

Since you are
more awake, it is your responsibility to guide the conversations in
a manner that moves toward connection, in whatever that means for
that particular relationship.

Forgive the Sleepy-ones

Yes, sometimes we are met with the anger and aggression of those who
don't 'get it', but it is important that we do not return those
lower vibration emotions.

If you can be forgiving of those who are
less awake for their ignorance, that will go a long way in repairing
relationships that have grown distant.

Mind Your Own Business

When you wake up to the truth of the world, it often provokes a deep
sense of urgency and responsibility.

After all, people need to
wake-up before we create the apocalypse or humanity is completely
enslaved with no way to escape. When time is of the essence, how can
we sit around and wait?

The thing is, it is not your job to convince anyone of anything. The
same Source that woke you up knows how to wake everyone else up, as
well.

Just stay committed to your own journey of discovery, align
with the truth, take inspired action and do what is best for you,
and you might be surprised that others are directed in the same way,
at the time that is perfect for them - not you.

What to Do When You are Awake, Alone and Isolated?

Tune Up

Often when we awaken, we slip back into sleepiness because we want
to interact and connect to those who are still asleep, but this just
brings us more feelings of disconnection - because we are
disconnecting from ourselves in order to connect with others.

What is the remedy?

If you could commit to staying awake and
maintaining your connection to yourself, after a little while, you
would notice that others are, in fact, awakening.

When you do not
compromise yourself, and "go down"¯ to meet others where they are,
they will either fall out of your life or eventually rise-up to meet
you where you are. It is not that they are changing.

It is that you
are actually aligning with a new reality where there are more highly
evolved versions of the same people.

Find Like-Minded People

If you have awakened to world issues, find a group, or start a
group, that supports an issue that you feel most passionate about -
there are plenty of people who feel and think exactly as you do.

This will put you in contact with like-minded people and you will be
doing some tangible good.

Sometimes we are lonely because it is the Universe's way of pushing
us in one direction or another; in order to alleviate the pain of
loneliness we end up doing something we otherwise would not have
considered.

What should you be doing that you are not doing? This is
the "inner wise should"¯ not the outer manipulative "should" of the
world.

This is your higher-self speaking to you and guiding you in a
particular direction.

Be Your Own Best Friend
Learn what it means to become your own best friend.

Fall in love
with yourself, or even date yourself - take yourself to the beach
for a picnic, out to dinner at your favorite restaurant or even send
yourself flowers. Do for yourself what you wish someone would do for
you.

Make sure that you don't attach sadness to these actions. It
must be done from a space of pure self-appreciation.

Remember, this is a time for self-reflection, self-honoring and
self-care. You might even want to create a sensual experience for
yourself: bath, candles or aromatherapy - whatever makes you feel
good about you.

Find Ways to Have Physical Connect
Get massages and body work - anything that allows you to have
physical contact with others.

Skin to skin touching can make all the
difference in the world.

Get Back in Your Body
When we are lonely, we tend to dissociate from the body which only
adds to the experience of loneliness.

Getting back in your body
through yoga, exercise, breath-work or any physical activity will
naturally make you feel better and more connected.

Be in Nature
If you cannot connect to people, you can always connect to nature.

It is said that
the DMT in our bodies communicates with the DMT in
nature. This intuitive and energetic communication creates an
experience of connection. This is one of the reasons why it feels so
good to be in a natural environment, such as the mountains or the
beach.

Talk to the plants, the trees, and the birds.

This might also
include gardening or even growing food.

Heavy Petting

Pets always love us and never judge us.

If you don't have your own
cat or dog, and cannot get one, go to the park where people walk
their dogs, volunteer at a lost pet agency, or just go to a pet
store where you can spend some time giving and receiving love from a
fuzzy friend.

Research showed
that when people held a hot pack, they recalled fewer negative
emotions about a past lonely experience. This means that warm baths,
hot showers and heated throws can actually ease the pain of
loneliness.

Volunteer

Give of your loving heart. It is very difficult to experience
loneliness when we are giving of our hearts to others.

When we are
lonely, we tend to close down, but if you can open up to others
through giving, you may experience an immense shift in
consciousness.

You don't need a lot of people who relate to you and support you,
you just need a few.

What Not to Do…
Don't share with people who don't understand or don't care to
understand. Keep it to yourself.

One day these same people will be
turning to you for support and information - at that time, do not
hold their former ignorance against them; be compassionate and give
what you have.

Do not take it personally - It is not about you
Stop judging yourself or calling yourself derogatory names. Don't
let others do it to you.

Set boundaries for how people can treat you
and kindly tell people what those boundaries are, when appropriate.

Don't preach or persuade - It only creates resistance in others
Be quiet about your awakening and wait for the right moment
(opportunity) when the other person is open and receptive.

That
moment always comes if you are both patient and aware, but don't
push it.

Final Thoughts

Those who "go first"¯ shine the light for others to follow.

I know
that it can feel like a burden but it is an honor and a privilege.
You may not remember signing up for this assignment but nonetheless
you did, or it would not be happening.

When others are ready to wake
up, you can invite them to embrace, or simply allow their own
process of awakening, but it is not your job to wake anyone up.

Remember, the awakening process is different for everyone.

A couple of years ago, my then 18 year old son, who had awoken, said
to me,

"Mom, it must have really sucked when we all thought you were
crazy - that must have been really hard."

"Yes,"¯ I said, "It was really (really!) hard."¯

If I could speak to my past lonely self, I would tell her to be her
own best friend, take the time for even deeper self-reflection and
to keep going - it gets better. In fact, it gets great!

Maybe there
is a future-self who is speaking to you now and maybe he/she is
saying,

"You are not alone, be strong and empower yourself to one
day empower others!"¯

Do not despair - there is a light at the end of this tunnel - and it
is worth any journey to get there.